Pianist Ilya Yakushev returns with this jazz inspired program featuring works by Stravinsky, Tcherepnin and Tsfasman. Alexander Tsfasman, born the same year as Shostakovich, was an important figure in Soviet Jazz from the period of the mid-1920s until the late 1960s. His Jazz Suite for Piano and Orchestra from 1945 is both seductive and virtuosic. Stravinsky wrote several jazz inspired works for chamber orchestra and we conclude with Mozart’s sublime and evergreen, Symphony No. 40.
REPERTOIRE
Stravinsky | Suite No. 2 for small orchestra [7']
Tcherepnin | Ten Bagatelles, Op. 5 for Piano and Orchestra [14']
Stravinsky | Ragtime [4']
Tsfasman | Jazz Suite for Piano and Orchestra [18']
Intermission
Mozart | Symphony No. 40 [35']
BIOGRAPHY
Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev, with many awards and honors to his credit, continues to astound and mesmerize audiences at major venues on three continents.
In the 2016-17 season, Ilya Yakushev appeared as piano soloist with the symphony orchestras of New Haven (CT), El Paso (TX), Dubuque (IA), La Crosse (WI), Lake Forest (IL); and Glacier Symphony (MT), in addition to recitals in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Washington.
Highlights of Yakushev’s 2017-18 season include return appearances with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Las Cruces Symphony, and Reading Symphony, as well as performances with Decatur Symphony and Johnstown Symphony. He will also play recitals in Texas, Louisiana, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
In February 2014, British label Nimbus Records published “Prokofiev Sonatas Vol. 1” CD. American Record Guide wrote “Yakushev is one of the very best young pianists before the public today, and it doesn’t seem to matter what repertoire he plays – it is all of the highest caliber”. Volume 2 was published in January 2017, as well as an all-Russian repertoire CD in September 2017.
In past seasons, he has performed in various prestigious venues worldwide, including Glinka Philharmonic Hall (St. Petersburg), Victoria Hall (Singapore), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), and Sejong Performing Arts Center (Seoul, Korea). His performances with orchestra include those with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra, Boston Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, and many others.
Winner of the 2005 World Piano Competition which took place in Cincinnati, OH, Mr. Yakushev received his first award at age 12 as a prizewinner of the Young Artists Concerto Competition in his native St. Petersburg. In 1997, he received the Mayor of St. Petersburg’s Young Talents award, and in both 1997 and 1998, he won First Prize at the Donostia Hiria International Piano Competition in San Sebastian, Spain. In 1998, he received a national honor, The Award for Excellence in Performance, presented to him by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation in Moscow. Most recently, Mr. Yakushev became a recipient of the prestigious Gawon International Music Society’s Award in Seoul, Korea.
Mr. Yakushev attended the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music in his native St. Petersburg, Russia, and subsequently came to New York City to attend Mannes College of Music where he studied with legendary pianist Vladimir Feltsman.
Ilya Yakushev is a Yamaha artist.
